KEY POINTS
- As of early Wednesday, 241 'pro-crypto' candidates have been elected into the House, as per Stand With Crypto
- In the Senate, 14 pro-crypto candidates are in, compared to nine who are tagged as anti-crypto
- Coinbase's CEO said the results reveal that Americans do care about crypto
The cryptocurrency industry is celebrating the victories of candidates who expressed support for the sector in the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. elections, and for some prominent industry leaders, the wins should be sending a clear message to the political realm—that crypto voters are a new demographic to reckon with.
Data from Stand With Crypto shows that as of 4:00 a.m. ET, Wednesday, there are 241 "pro-crypto candidates" elected into the House of Representatives while there are 14 elected senatorial candidates who've expressed support for the sector.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are 113 "anti-crypto" candidates who've been elected into the House and nine in the Senate.
Crypto's Voice is Now Heard
For Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, "one thing is already clear: crypto has already won." He went on to say that regardless of the outcomes, "the results will plainly be shaped by the crypto voter."
Before results roll in, one thing is already clear: crypto has already won. Between the 1.8m Americans who registered as advocates with @standwithcrypto and the slew of R and D candidates who support crypto-friendly policy, the results will plainly be shaped by the crypto voter.
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) November 5, 2024
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had similar thoughts, saying the U.S. is now seeing the country's "most pro-crypto Congress ever." He added that the numbers are proof "Americans disproportionately care about crypto and want clear rules of the road for digital assets."
Freddie New, a co-founder at crypto-centric ICDEF Research, believes that even if Sen. Elizabeth Warren defeated pro-crypto John Deaton for the Massachusetts senatorial seat, "she's gone as head of the Banking Committee," and so is "the poisonous attempt to shutter and destroy legitimate businesses through denying them banking services."
New was referring to what the industry dubbed as Operation Choke Point 2.0, an alleged joint effort among federal bank regulators to intentionally block banking access to crypto firms.
Tony Edward of the Thinking Crypto podcast said that the Congress numbers so far speak for themselves. "I bet the anti crypto folks are all gonna think twice about attacking this industry moving forward," he projected.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse had similar words, saying that the U.S. election outcomes is a slap in the face of doubters. "The crypto voter is here to stay, loud and clear!" he wrote.
To everyone who doubted it:
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 6, 2024
the crypto voter is here to stay, loud and clear!
Truly amazing to see crypto champions like @berniemoreno, @RitchieTorresNY, @gillibrandny and @RepAndyBarr get the W with this election.
David Bailey, CEO of the Bitcoin Magazine, said the 2024 election was "truly the birth of the orange party," referring to "orange-pilling," the term Bitcoiners use when they get another individual to believe in the potential of the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value.
This election was truly the birth of the orange party. Thank you for taking a leap of faith, the journey is just beginning.
— David Bailey🇵🇷 $0.65mm/btc is the floor (@DavidFBailey) November 6, 2024
Bailey also sent his congratulations to the Ulbricht family. When Donald Trump, who is currently on track to become the 47th president of the country, spoke at the Bitcoin Conference earlier this year, he promised to free Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the darkweb marketplace Silk Road.
Tyler Winklevoss, who co-founded the Gemini exchange with his twin, Cameron, took a sarcastic dig at Warren and SEC Chair Gary Gensler. He said the crypto army "delivered the Senate to the Republicans." The Winklevoss twins each donated $1 million worth of Bitcoin to the Trump campaign.
The crypto army just delivered the Senate to the Republicans. Congratulations @SenWarren and @GaryGensler!
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) November 6, 2024
Trump Declares Victory
Meanwhile, in Florida, the Republican presidential candidate declared that he has "won the popular vote." While all the numbers have yet to come in, it appears that the presidential race's final outcome will hinge largely on this year's swing states.
Unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Bitcoin and the broader crypto industry. The Republican Party also made sure to include Bitcoin mining and digital assets as a priority in its 2024 Platform's tech plans.
